


Question Answered

by skargasm



Series: Stories A - Z [16]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fanart, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:28:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28628787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skargasm/pseuds/skargasm
Summary: Derek couldn’t answer just how this had happened..
Relationships: Derek Hale/Jackson Whittemore
Series: Stories A - Z [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060769
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Question Answered

[ ](https://imgur.com/IVvlIOR)

It was – handy – that the Pack were well-trained in not asking him questions. Well, apart from Stiles. Mainly because, if asked, Derek couldn’t have explained how this had happened for the life of him.

After the kanima – after Lydia saved them all from the kanima – he had expected Jackson to be attached to the girl at the hip. Or maybe to disappear. He knew that there had been talk of him moving to London, getting away from the Hellmouth that was Beacon Hills. 

Instead, he found that more often than not, when he got home, Jackson was there – sat in his Porsche, a scowl on his face, waiting for Derek. There was never an explanation – the teenager would simply climb out of his vehicle and follow Derek into the Loft. If there was no pack business, they simply watched TV, ordering take-out from the variety of menus that Derek had in a kitchen drawer. After inflicting whatever his latest reality TV series fascination on Derek and eating more than his fair share of the food, Jackson would help tidy up and then – leave. 

It got to where when he got home from meeting with local packs to try to reawaken treaties the Hales had once had, he was looking for Jackson in the parking lot, waiting for him at the door and letting him in. 

He had wondered whether it was simply that Jackson felt the need to be close to his Alpha. It would be understandable – his change had not been a simple one and he might have required more assistance, more closeness than the other Betas. But that didn’t seem to be true either – during training sessions, Jackson exhibited more control over his wolf than Erica or Isaac, seeming to feel things instinctively about being a werewolf. Derek had considered looking into his past to see if there were any supernaturals in his family that they weren’t aware of but decided that might not be a good idea – better to let sleeping dogs lie. 

Sometimes Jackson did homework or revision, curled up on the couch next to Derek, the sound of his pen scribbling across the paper a soothing backdrop to ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’. Derek couldn’t fathom putting himself through something like that, although he was unwillingly fascinated by some of the trials they went through.

After a pixie incursion, Jackson came back to the Loft to clean up, swearing about the mess in his Porsche from carrying a wounded and bleeding Isaac off the battlefield as if someone had _made_ him rescue the other beta. Then Derek had wondered if Jackson was perhaps carrying a torch for Isaac – he took such good care of his pack-mate, ensuring his wounds were cleaned and bandaged before settling him into Derek’s spare bedroom. But he couldn’t scent anything about Jackson whilst he handled Isaac’s naked body, and the rest of the evening was spent on the couch, Jackson sitting perhaps just a little bit closer to Derek than necessary. 

There were quiet weeks – Stiles insisted that even supernatural baddies had to sit exams – and during that time, Derek’s loft slowly began to smell of not just his pack, but of Derek-and-Jackson. He was sure during one Pack meeting that Erica had been about to comment but she was elbowed shut by Stiles of all people, and Derek still couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. 

Lydia announced she was leaving for early enrolment and Derek expected Jackson to be slightly heartbroken. Instead, he arranged for the leaving party, seeming to be honestly happy for the red-head, acting as host even though the party was held at Derek’s loft. Derek found himself being ordered around – grab some more ice, fetch the glasses, move that table – and for reasons he couldn’t fathom, he did as he was told. 

At the end of a raucous night, where Erica demonstrated her flexibility showing off some yoga moves, Scott clumsily made a pass at Kira, and Stiles announced to everyone that he was bisexual as though he was expecting them to be surprised, Derek found himself left with Jackson cleaning up.

Filling a garbage bag with the detritus of chips, dips and wrapping paper from the gifts that had been purchased and appreciated, Derek turned to Jackson.

“How come you got stuck with clean up?” Jackson stood with an armful of glasses, giving Derek a slightly derisory look.

“Are you truly this dumb?” Confused, Derek carried the sack of garbage to the kitchen, aware of Jackson following him. Knotting it carefully, he placed it next to the bin in the kitchen to be disposed of the next day. 

“How am I being dumb?” he finally asked, turning to find that Jackson had dropped the glasses off into the sink and was standing right behind him. 

“Dumb enough not to figure out what’s going on,” Jackson said, grabbing Derek’s face between his hands. “Or maybe it’s a lack of interest? No – that can’t be it. Like I told Danny, I’m everyone’s type,” he asserted.

“You – “ Derek’s mind had frozen, finally catching up with what had been going on. 

“Yes, I like you. As in – like you, like you,” Jackson said, still cupping Derek’s face.

“But – Lydia – her love was what set you free,” Derek said, trying to figure out what was going on. 

“She loves me and I love her – just not like that. Haven’t you seen Frozen? It doesn’t have to be romantic love that saves a person, you know,” Jackson said.

Confused by the segue-way into animated movies, Derek stared into Jackson’s face, not quite sure what he was searching for. 

“If you’re not interested, now is the time to say something because I’m about to finally kiss you,” Jackson said, his voice low, his expression uncertain. Finally coming to life, Derek managed to nod his head, making the move to bring their lips together. It was like his body had been set aflame, his head feeling light, his senses on fire. Their bodies fit together like interlocking pieces, the softness of Jackson’s hair beneath the fingers of one hand, the muscled back beneath the other. “Well I guess that answers that question,” Jackson said, smiling softly once their mouths had separated. 

“Yeah,” Derek replied, still slightly blown away by how he was feeling. “This isn’t just – gratitude or whatever, right?”

“What – for not following through with your plan to kill me when I was a murder lizard?” Jackson snarked, stepping back. Bereft, Derek pulled him back into his embrace, wanting to keep him near. “No – gratitude isn’t what I’m feeling.”

“It’s not just some residual need for your Alpha – I mean – “

“Jesus, Stilinski said you would try to push me away!”

“Stiles said?”

“Yeah, for an idiot, he actually had the right idea. Told me I needed to make my way under your defences, that if you didn’t want me you wouldn’t put up with me being around all the time,” Jackson replied, sliding his hands over Derek’s shoulders with appreciation. “Which is why I’ve practically been living here the last few months and you haven’t said a damned thing about it.”

“I wasn’t sure what was going on – “ Derek said, feeling flustered.

“But if you didn’t want me around, you would have kicked me out,” Jackson replied, a slightly questioning tone in his voice.

“Well, yeah,” Derek admitted.

“So – “

“So – yes, I like having you around. And – I like you. But – “

“If this is going to be the age thing, or the wolf thing, or – “

“No, no – nothing like that. I just – I’m tied to Beacon Hills. I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave it again with everything the way it is. Are you sure you want to be stuck here? With me?”

“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have even started this. Besides, there are benefits to being here. You being one of them,” Jackson said.

“Me,” Derek said, slowly accepting that this was real. That he could have this.

“Yes, you,” Jackson replied. “Although we might have to do something about that creepy ass uncle of yours.”

“That can definitely be arranged,” Derek said, pulling Jackson into another kiss. He had no idea just how he had got to be so lucky, but he wasn’t going to question it any further. For once, he was going to take the gift handed to him by life and appreciate it for exactly what it was – a fresh start.

* * *


End file.
